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Style Icon: Dusty Springfield

Posted on 16th July 2015

When we think of the word 'rebel' Dusty Springfield might be the
last person to spring to mind, but believe it or not her
personality, music and her look were about as rebellious as it got
back in her heyday! She broke the mould with her music and her
sexuality by refusing to sit comfortably within the industry's
expectations, singing anything from country, jazz and soul in that
husky, emotive voice we know so well. With a career spanning from
the 1950's to the 1990's, her ongoing legacy and timeless look
deems her more than worthy of being our style icon!

Think blonde bouffant hair, panda eyes and a glitzy dress, and
you've got Dusty. Her look earned her the prestigious title, 'Queen
of Mods'. Rumour has it, after sharing a top billing with Shirley
Bassey, she sneaked into Bassey's dressing room to find out who
made her outfits! Low and behold it was Eric Plant, founder of
'Darnell of London', and from then on Plant dressed Dusty for her
shows. Wearing dresses both floor sweeping and mini, Plant designed
colourful and intricately embellished numbers that gave Dusty the
iconic look we know her for today.

As for her blonde bouffant, glamour queens of the 1950's such as
Brigitte Bardot and Catherine Deneuve played a big part in
influencing her image. Known for her wicked sense of humour, it
perhaps shouldn't surprise us that Dusty name her wigs after three
of her contemporaries - number one was Cilla, number two was named
Lulu, and number three, Sandie (not sure what they'd say to that!).
Her distinctive heavy mascara and eyeliner which is still emulated
today apparently came about simply as a result of being short
sighted and having to remove her glasses when applying make-up!

The seventies and eighties brought new fads and trends, so
naturally Dusty moved with this. Adopting longer, flicked out hair
and head dresses for the seventies, and a permed barnet with
embellished suits in the eighties. Despite the change, elements of
her classic look still remained, much like the rich and soulful
quality of her voice. Debbie Harry, Madonna and Amy Winehouse have
all taken inspiration from Dusty's style.

A highly outgoing, charming performer on stage and a troubled
introvert off, some have speculated that the shy and retiring Mary
O'Brien (her real name) was a far cry from her Dusty Springfield
stage persona. Controversy surrounded her private life due to her
'alternative' lifestyle as a lesbian and problems with drugs,
alcohol and self harming. Her iconic and bold look that we know and
love was perhaps, then, was a reflection of her severe insecurity
and the public's rejection of her true self. Or as Dusty herself
put it, "To be the star they wanted, I had to hide behind a mask,
and I chose mascara."